adminNEW YORK. – A black former tennis umpire said in a lawsuit that he was forced out of the sport because he complained about racial bias, including that another umpire called him a “monkey,” allegations that the United States Tennis Association denied.
The suit filed last week in federal court in Brooklyn against the USTA contends Anthony Nimmons, who started umpiring in 1994, was demoted and ultimately fired for speaking up about a racist environment in the world of tennis officiating. It seeks unspecified damages.
The USTA “strictly prohibits discrimination and retaliation in its workplace,” organisation spokesperson Chris Widmaier said on Wednesday. “We categorically deny the claims of Mr. Nimmons and will vigorously defend the suit,” he added.
Among the incidents Nimmons says he reported to the nation’s governing body for professional tennis was an encounter with a white umpire at the 2013 US Open in New York City who allegedly taunted him by saying: “Hey Tony, if you were a hungry monkey and I told you there was a watermelon in the tree – go get it! – how would you feel?”
At a lower-level tournament in Dallas in 2012, he claims another white umpire yelled, “Tony, you should go back to the ghetto!” – AFP.
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